


coup de grace

by Lukra (49percentchanceofbees)



Category: Flight Rising
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-03
Updated: 2016-05-04
Packaged: 2019-09-12 13:23:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 8,317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16873677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/49percentchanceofbees/pseuds/Lukra
Summary: Aridatha, Lioska, and Nessa have a plan for Clan Lukra -- a plan that requires that they become the clan's new leaders.





	1. Chapter 1

“You know what’s coming?” Frip said.

“Yes,” Telyn said. “The general shape of it, at least. I had higher hopes for Karal, and I suspect Acrux shall be displeased.”

“Do you care if he gets his knickers in a twist?”

“It will happen whether I care or not, won’t it?”

Frip paused and thought about the question. She and Telyn sat on a mountainside in the Crystalspine Reaches, gazing out at the sunset. _Thematically appropriate_ , the nocturne thought, but of course it would be.

“I think it will. We’ve gone too far to back down now.”

Telyn turned with a cold smile. “Now, Frip. That almost makes it sound like _you’re_  behind the power grab to come. But my understanding was that our future is the work of … one whose identity has not yet been fully revealed to me.”

“Trust me, Telly, you’ll know who she is as soon as I do. That’s the last piece of the puzzle.” Frip picked a blade of grass and began to fold it back on itself. “Well, if we’re going to be thorough we ought to deal with Arven and Geras first, but since when are we thorough?”

The imperial’s smile widened. “Now you sound even more like a conspirator.”

Frip tilted her head. “I’m more of an accomplice, I think. I know what’s happening and there’s not a thing I can do about it. Just like you.”

“Ah. I understand. You just see more around the edges than I do, yes?”

“Not exactly, but I think that’s as close as you’re capable of getting.” Frip tore the leaf in two and let it fall from her claws. “This has been … quite some time coming. I think in the end, it will be good for us. No one’s _dying_ , Telly.”

Telyn frowned. “That is an undignified nickname.”

Frip grinned. “Oh, I know, Telly.”

Telyn sighed. “And I suspect it is just as pointless to ask you to stop as it is to bewail the coming change.”

“For you? Yes.” Smirking, Frip picked a dandelion and blew on it, sending seeds off across the mountainside. “I don’t think we have anything more to say to each other, do we?”

“You are a suspicious creature,” Telyn said, looking down at the much smaller nocturne. “I am not surprised that Acrux distrusts you.”

“Oh, if he only knew …” Frip turned away. “Good evening, Telyn.”

“Good night, Frip.”


	2. Chapter 2

“Are you sure about this, Ari?”

“Quite sure.” The pearlcatcher reached over and straightened Nessa’s scarf. Then Aridatha looked up at the third dragon in the room. “We are, aren’t we?”

Lioska tapped her claws against the ground and shrugged. “We are as ready as we will ever be. Further delay will not increase our chances of success.”

“And … what are our chances of success, exactly?” Nessa stepped delicately towards Lioska. Her voice was more expressive then you’d expect of a fae, but then, she’d been a pearlcatcher not too long ago.

“They’re good,” Aridatha said firmly.

“As long as no one finds out we already misappropriated funds to pay for your scrolls …” Lioska added.

“That was a necessary expense,” Aridatha said. They couldn’t have done this with her a mirror; no one trusted them. She wouldn’t even have trusted herself in her former form. And Nessa … All right, that one had mostly been for aesthetics’ sake, but she had to impress.

“It’s so strange to look at it and not feel anything,” Nessa said, laying a talon on the pearl that sat between them. Aridatha felt a twinge of anxiety and forced it down before it could show. She’d produced her own pearl when she’d changed, but she’d hidden it, not even Nessa knew where. She would carry Nessa’s former pearl instead. It was a small deception, but if things went south …

“We will succeed,” Aridatha said, looking up at Lioska again.

The wildclaw tilted her head. “It will certainly be an interesting experience.”

“So,” Nessa said, taking a step back and standing between Lioska and Aridatha. “We meet a nice clan, we join them quietly, and then we say ‘hey, how would you like to completely change your hierarchy and stick us on top?’”

Lioska smiled thinly. “An accurate assessment.”

“We can do this,” Aridatha insisted. “This clan is poorly organized. It lacks a leader altogether – there’s no one to challenge us for the position. Some of these dragons may object, but I’m certain we can convince enough of them. If the clan splits … so be it.”

Nessa sighed. “We could just make our own clan, you know. That’s the traditional route, isn’t it?”

Aridatha shook her head. “I don’t want to scrabble for years just to get two gold pieces to rub together. Why should we work our way up from the bottom when there’s a perfectly good clan here doing _nothing_?”

“Mm.” Lioska gave Aridatha a meaningful look. She knew what the pearlcatcher hadn’t mentioned: that poor, pretty Nessa would be begging harpies for food by now if Aridatha hadn’t taken her in.

It had been quite the argument. Lioska and Aridatha had already met, wandering clan-less, and found each other appropriately ambitious; and then they came across Nessa, optimistic and sweet and completely unprepared for the world outside her birth clan. It was a wonder they’d ever let her leave – maybe she’d snuck away. Lioska hadn’t wanted the then-pearlcatcher to join them, but Aridatha had talked her around.

Now, Aridatha laid a claw on Nessa’s head, brushing the fae’s crest. Nessa could present a prettier face to Clan Lukra than either of her companions, and Aridatha _liked_  her. There was something about Nessa that made her want to see the Fire dragon surrounded by beautiful things, respected, beloved. Happy.

Nessa shook her head and folded her wings. “I’m sure you’re right. It will be fine. And even if it isn’t, what’s the worst that could happen?”

Lioska and Aridatha traded another meaningful look.


	3. Chapter 3

“Are you going into battle?” the icy wildclaw said. “May I come with you?”

Nesita looked up. That dragon was new to the clan, she knew, and quiet, and kept mostly to herself. Nesita wasn’t even sure of her name.

Or, as Delemont so delicately put it: “Who the blazes are you?”

“My name is Lioska.” The wildclaw tilted her head, giving Nesita and Delemont a measuring look. “I have studied both individual combat and military strategy extensively. I believe you will find me an asset on the field of battle.”

Delemont snorted and mimicked her in a whiny voice: “ ‘I believe you will find me an asset on the field of battle.’ Let me ask, clever-claws, how many beasts have you actually killed?”

Lioska’s eyes narrowed, and her response was curt. “None.”

Another snort. Deciding that was enough, Nesita shoved Delemont and stepped forward.

“All the more reason to help you learn,” the tundra said. She gave Delemont a quelling look, and the mirror closed his mouth, which had just been preparing for another snide comment. “We would be delighted for you to join us.”

“Sure, why not? It’s not like anyone else in this godsforsaken fleapit contributes anything anyway.” Delemont turned away. “Just keep up!”

And off he went. Nesita sighed. Lioska didn’t seem offended, though; she was gazing after Delemont with a measuring look in her green eyes.

“Let me just tell Ehlen that her training is finished,” Nesita said. Ehlen was one of the clan’s hatchlings who had elected to serve the Arcanist, and she could have gotten in a bit more combat experience, but she didn’t need to. “In fact, if you want to start after Delemont, go ahead. No pressure on you, but try not to let him get himself killed before I get there.”

Lioska smiled thinly. “As you wish.”


	4. Chapter 4

“Clan meeting in the main hall in five minutes.”

Rakgi looked up. “What about?”

In the doorway to his cave, Frip shrugged. “Be there or be square, Freckles.”

“What does that mean?” Rakgi asked, but the nocturne was already gone. Down the hall, he could hear her repeating the message to someone else, probably Kelsus.

Well, it wasn’t like he had anything better to do. Picking up his pearl, Rakgi headed for the main hall.

When he got there, it was full. He didn’t even know all the dragons – the clan had expanded quite a bit lately, and he’d been too busy to meet them all. He couldn’t help feeling rather small and lost among the riot of colorful dragons, and the first thing he managed to do was earn a glare from a huge, sparkling blue imperial by stepping on his tail.

“Sorry!” Rakgi said, hurrying away. Spotting Geras’ pale horns above the fray, he made his way towards her and squeezed in next to her, almost under her, as Kelsus landed on her head and a piebald nocturne Rakgi didn’t know sat down at her elbow.

Geras looked down. “Hey.”

She sounded concerned, but then she always did.

“Hey,” Rakgi said. “What’s going on?”

“I have no idea.” Geras lifted her head to look over the crowd, and for a moment Rakgi was jealous of Kelsus, clinging to her horns, who had to be getting the best view in the house. Except for the imperials’, he supposed.

“Everybody seems to be looking at the dragons on that side of the room,” Geras reported. “That new wildclaw who went out with Delemont and Nesita, and … I don’t recognize the others. A pearlcatcher and a fae.”

“I didn’t know we had another pearlcatcher,” Rakgi said.

“Neither did I.” Geras shrugged. “We might need a bigger hall soon, though. I’ll tell Nesita when this is over, if she hasn’t already figured it out for herself.”

Slowly, the chatter in the crowd started to die down. Rakgi didn’t really notice until the nocturne on Geras’ other side turned his head and whispered, “Shh! Someone’s going to speak.”

“Who?” Geras whispered back. The nocturne shrugged and extended his neck as far as he could, trying to see past Moros.

“Hello,” came a voice from the front of the room, magically amplified to carry over the crowd. Rakgi didn’t recognize the voice. “I know not many of you know me. My name is Nessa.”

“She’s a fae,” Geras reported.

“She doesn’t sound like one,” Rakgi said.

“My name is Nessa, and I have some big plans I’d like to share with you all.”


	5. Chapter 5

Nessa looked at Aridatha, who gave her an encouraging nod. Turning back to her audience, the fae took a deep breath and began.

“You have a beautiful clan here, and I’m so grateful to be a part of it. But … it doesn’t strike you that you’re not _getting_  anywhere?”

The crowd muttered to each other. Nessa scanned their faces, trying to gauge the reaction. At least one dragon was nodding; others just looked puzzled.

“You’re not influential. You don’t control much territory, or trade. You’ve built up reserves of treasure, but for what?”

“This isn’t a proud clan,” Aridatha broke in. “It’s a retirement home.”

More muttering. Not all of it sounded friendly. Nessa shot Aridatha a panicked glance, but the pearlcatcher just nodded at her. OK, OK, just stay calm and keep course.

“I think … I want to help you with that,” she said. “If you follow us, together we can earn the glory we deserve.”

Was that too corny? Nessa took another long breath.

“Your life here may be easy, but it’s stagnant. You could be so much more than this. You have so much potential! This clan is full of strong, intelligent dragons; you could be a major power. _We_  could be a major power. But you need direction!”

“Oi,” said a black mirror. He was perched at the front, and Nessa vaguely remembered that he was someone important. “I’ll admit, things have gotten too _domestic_  around here for my tastes. But hey, if we want to change our lives, what the Shade do we need you for?”

Nessa floundered, but Aridatha had an answer ready: “Where would you start, then? Do you have a plan? We do.”

The mirror tilted his head and scowled. “Let’s hear this great plan, then.”


	6. Chapter 6

“The first step is to move on from this cramped, constricting lair,” Aridatha said. “The Crystalspine Reaches are full of know-nothing clans who scarcely step outside their doorstep. I don’t think you want to stay one of them.”

“This lair is our _home_.” That was the purple tundra, Nesita. If Aridatha recalled correctly, she was the de facto clan leader at the moment, though she carried nothing so formal as a title. “The Crystalspine Reaches are our home. They always have been. I built this lair with my own claws – we’re happy here.”

“Not to mention the practical considerations of moving all of our possessions to a new lair,” said another tundra, this one male, with a black and white glamor and a pair of little spectacles.

“The Starwood Strand is a wonderful place – a powerful place,” Nessa said. “A place of dreams and inspiration. Wouldn’t you rather live there than here among the mines?”

“She has a point,” said a red-gold skydancer.

“Why, though?” said another skydancer, a brown one with gems set into his skin. “What’s the point? What’s the end goal?”

“The point is to give you all full scope for your talents,” Aridatha said. “You have great scholars and prophets here, and what are they doing? Curling up in caves, their knowledge hidden. Do you think you’re serving your god, our god, by catching bugs and tunneling? You don’t have a leader, and you need one.”

“We’ve always gotten along just fine without – ” Nesita began.

“And who’s this leader?” the golden skydancer interrupted. “You?”

“Nessa.” Aridatha stepped back. She’d intended to leave most of the talking to Nessa – oops. “It’s Nessa.”

“I don’t see why it shouldn’t be me,” the skydancer said. “I’ve been here far longer than you – you’re barely more than hatchlings! Unlike you, I know this clan.”

“Hey,” said Delemont, the black mirror. “If we’re throwing our hats into the ring, I’ve been around longer than _any_  of you. I founded this clan. And I’ve led us into battle countless times.”

“You’ve run off and gotten yourself savaged, more like,” the skydancer retorted. “It takes intelligence to lead, not just pure spite.”

“What are you saying, you overgrown chicke – ”

“Can you two snap at each other later?” Frip asked. Aridatha wasn’t sure what she thought of Frip. The nocturne always seemed to be around, always seemed to know what was going on … and she hadn’t batted an eye when Lioska had asked her to call this meeting. She certainly seemed able to get things done, but Aridatha had a feeling she was a dragon to watch out for. “I think we’re trying to have an important conversation right now.”

“I agree with Nessa.” The speaker was a red coatl near the back of the room. His voice slid up and down in tone, giving his words an eerie quality. “We have no purpose. We exist, but we have no reason to. If she can remedy that, I’ll follow Nessa.”

Aridatha tried not to sigh in relief. One down, one dragon convinced to join them.

“Who the Shade is he?” Delemont demanded.

All right, maybe he wasn’t a particularly _important_ clan-member, but the coatl was one more dragon behind them.

“My name is Sunfall,” he said. “I come from a proud line of warriors, and if you will allow me, Nessa, I will fight for you.”

“Oh, that’s – that’s quite kind.” Nessa sounded a bit flustered, and Aridatha gave her a look. She collected herself. “I am honored, Sunfall.”

“We will need warriors,” Lioska said. She turned to Delemont. “And you are the most experienced fighter here. Your help would be invaluable. I know you enjoy hunting. I suspect that expanding our clan can provide you with many more opportunities, more exotic prey.”

“Don’t try to butter me up,” Delemont growled, but he didn’t sound particularly vehement. _He’s considering it,_  Aridatha thought.

“We just wanted to inform you of our plan,” Aridatha said. “I’d like to talk to each of you individually, to understand your goals and how we can help meet them. And you can decide individually whether to accompany us to the Starwood Strand, whether to follow Nessa or not. We … will be leaving regardless.”


	7. Chapter 7

Aridatha walked around a corner and almost ran into Frip. “Oh! I was just – ”

“Looking for me? I know.” The nocturne smiled. She was always smiling, always seemed just tickled by some private joke. “Well, you found me.”

“We were wondering where you stand.”

“Right in front of you, obviously. Use those bright eyes, kitten.”

Aridatha narrowed her eyes, a bit annoyed. “Yes, yes, very droll. You know what I meant. Where do you stand on the issue of the clan’s leadership? Will you follow us, or are you attached to this place?”

“Why, I didn’t think my activities would particularly interest you,” Frip said, with a smirk that said she had known all along what Aridatha intended to ask her.

“We care for this clan, and that means caring for every member.”

“Member, member. Remember … It ought to mean re-attaching a limb, don’t you think? Re-member?”

Aridatha gave Frip a blank look, and the nocturne sighed.

“I am not the backing you wish to recruit, kitten.”

“The rest of the clan listens to you.” _Even if they do so warily, and suspecting you may be mad_. Because strange as Frip might be, she knew things.

“Not in so many words.” Frip folded her claws thoughtfully. “I fully intend to move to the Starwood Strand, but will I follow you? Again, not in so many words. My support is no banner for you to wave to collect the others. For … personal reasons, I choose not to influence my fellows in this particular decision.”

Aridatha frowned, puzzling through the nocturne’s statement. “So … you do support us.”

“I do nothing at all.” Frip rubbed her chin with a talon. “As my _dear_  friend Telyn would tell you, what comes comes. Yet it would be … mm, cheating, for me to help you. The others need to follow you because _you_  convinced them to, not because I wiggled my claws and said ‘This is what we’re doing.’”

Aridatha’s frown deepened. Maybe Frip was more dangerous than she suspected. “You could do that? I mean, you’re that powerful?”

Frip shook her head. “I have no power at all. It is … conceptually within my … capabilities, but it would be lazy and stupid, and we shan’t do it.”

“We?” Aridatha echoed.

Frip grinned. “You’re a smart one. Of course, it’s easier for you than, say, Crystal. Ah, poor Crystal …”

“What are you talking about?”

“Nothing that concerns you.” Frip folded her talons again and smiled at Aridatha. It was almost a friendly smile. “I would recommend that you start with Acrux and Telyn. They are well-respected, and Telyn’s ambitious, so it won’t be hard to appeal to her. Not to mention that she understands inevitability.”

“If you can see the future, then are you telling me that we’re going to succeed?”

“I don’t see the future.” Frip turned away, and Aridatha’s jaw clenched. She was notably not answering the question. “Move along, kitten. Acrux. Telyn. You’d better get to work.”


	8. Chapter 8

“Hello,” Telyn said, pulling aside the curtain that divided her cave from the hall before Aridatha could announce her presence. The pearlcatcher reacted with annoyance, Acrux noticed, and in his mind he heard, _Is that a seer thing? This had better not be like talking with Frip._

“Hello,” Aridatha said, her tone perfectly pleasant. “I was hoping to speak to you both.”

 _Frip may be strange and slightly terrifying, but there’s nothing to suggest she’s wrong_.

“Did Frip frighten you?” Acrux said. Unlike the rest of the world, Frip didn’t whisper her secrets into his ear. He’d only heard one thing from her, which was, _Acrux, love, didn’t anyone tell you it’s rude to eavesdrop?_

“Not really,” Aridatha said. She shook her head. _It is a seer thing. Ugh_. “I’ve come seeking your advice. You were at the clan meeting – you know what we’re trying to do. Will we succeed?”

“Yes,” Telyn answered, at once. 

Aridatha’s lightning-blue eyes widened; she clearly hadn’t expected that response. “I … Could you elaborate, please?”

“You will succeed in leading the majority of the clan to the Starwood Strand,” Telyn said. “Your initiative will cause some to realize that they have stayed with us too long, and they will depart. And it will take time and work to realize your ambition.”

“But we’ll do it.” Aridatha sounded very young with that excitement in her voice.

Telyn gave the smaller dragon a stern look. “You should not relax your efforts simply because I have told you that fate has already decided for you. She can be fickle.”

“I won’t.” Aridatha bowed her head. Then she looked back up. “Does that mean that you, personally, support us, Telyn?”

Telyn tilted her head, thinking. Acrux could hear half-finished whispers of prophecy from her, as usual, and as usual he tried not to listen. He didn’t like knowing the future, and he didn’t agree with his mate that they had no choice but walk the path her visions prescribed for them.

“Yes, I think I shall. Why should I pretend ignorance and draw this out even longer? You may carry my words to the rest of the clan.” Telyn glanced at Acrux, knowing very well his attitude towards her prophecies. “Although you may find that they don’t aid you as much as you’d like.”

“Delemont would refuse out of spite, I suspect,” Aridatha muttered. “And who’s going to leave?”

The pearlcatcher shook her head again and turned to Acrux. “What about you? You’re also highly respected. Your decision will influence many, and I would be honored to count you on my side.”

 _That’s it, Ari. Butter him up._  But she was sincere all the same, Acrux thought.

“Have we really come to having ‘sides’?” Acrux said, a bit sadly. “Can we not come to a decision as a group?”

Aridatha was silent for a moment, clearly deciding how to respond. _Why should I even believe Telyn?_   _She could just be telling me what I want to hear._  “You have a point. I don’t want to create unnecessary conflict, and I shouldn’t speak of dragons being on one side or another. But I do intend to do what’s best for this clan, and I would like to know if you’ll join me in that.”

“Why is Nessa to be our new leader?” Acrux asked, tilting his head. “Aren’t you the one with the plans?”

Another silence, in which only Acrux heard, _Shade. He’s got me there._  “We work together. Please don’t change the subject.”

“Like you’re doing?” Acrux said, laughing. Aridatha scowled, and he sobered. “These caverns have been my home for most of my life. I am not highly inclined to leave them. Not to mention, as Bartos pointed out, the practical challenge of moving my possessions, many of which are delicate.”

“I’m going, Acrux, whether you accompany me or not,” Telyn said.

Acrux looked at his mate. “I’m not sure that should be the deciding factor.”

“I know it’s not.” Telyn didn’t seem bothered by the fact. “But have you ever been to the Starwood Strand? Do you know how it would speak to you? The secrets it holds? The hymns it sings?”

Acrux frowned. Aridatha was watching him with bright, clever eyes, and she said quietly, “You can’t build anything more here. There isn’t room.”

 _Why not?_  said a voice that Acrux thought was, in fact, his own. Why should he stay here? So far his only arguments were sloth and nostalgia. “Nesita is a kind dragon. She deserves my loyalty.”

Aridatha looked at him as if he’d just accused her of breaking eggs. “I respect Nesita. I hope she’ll continue to be an important member of this clan for years to come. I’m not sure where you got the impression that standing with us would be betraying her, but that was never our intent.”

Acrux sighed. _The stars themselves shall sing to you_ , said Telyn’s whispers. And _What happens happens, whether you accept it or not_.

“I stand with you,” Acrux said softly, “and I will ask others to do likewise.”


	9. Chapter 9

“Why are you doing this?”

“Sorry, what?” Aridatha looked rather blankly at the skydancer who’d just walked into her small cavern. He hadn’t bothered to warn the inhabitants of his approach, or even greet them.

“Why are you trying to take over? Why move the clan to the Starwood Strand? Why not just start your own clan?” The skydancer sat back on his haunches and pulled a pad of paper and a pencil stub from a pouch on his belt, then looked expectantly at Aridatha, Nessa, and Lioska.

“Excuse me, but who are you, exactly?” Lioska asked, tapping a claw against the floor and giving the skydancer her haughtiest look.

“The name’s Cypress.” He held out a talon to shake. Nessa took it, gingerly, while Lioska and Aridatha continued staring at him. “I have some questions for you.”

“Why?” Aridatha demanded.

“Why not?” Cypress shrugged. There was a distinctly troublesome glint in his green eyes as he added, “What, do you have something to hide?”

“No, we do not,” Aridatha said curtly.

“Great!” Cypress scribbled something down. Aridatha tried to tilt her head to read what he was writing, but it was illegible. Meanwhile, the writer himself looked up and gave Nessa a bright smile. “So what brought you here? Why come to us?”

“This clan has great potential that is currently going – ” Nessa began.

Cypress tilted his head. “Mm, the public line. I’ve already got that. Why are you _really_  here?”

“What are you writing down?” Aridatha said.

“I have a very poor memory,” Cypress replied, giving Aridatha a look of doe-eyed innocence. “I want to make sure that I recall this conversation in full detail so I can tell others about it. It would be a shame for me to get … mixed up and say the wrong thing.”

Aridatha’s eyes narrowed. Was that a threat? She turned her head and met Lioska’s gaze. What did they know about Cypress? Not much.

“We truly do want to help,” Aridatha said, keeping her tone pleasant.

Nessa nodded. “Aren’t you bored here? Nothing ever happens!”

Cypress’s head tilted further, and he chewed on the end of his pencil stub. “There was that one time when Iburel left a potion brewing too long and it gained sentience.”

“Oh, I’m glad you’ve gotten your year’s share of excitement, then,” Lioska said, her voice heavy with sarcasm.

Shrugging, Cypress tucked the pencil stub into the brim of his hat. “Do you really think it’s going to be all that different in the Starwood Strand?”

“We know it will,” Aridatha said firmly. “We’ll make sure it is.”

Cypress wrote that down. “How?”

“We intend to bring the clan structure and purpose,” Aridatha said, trying to ignore the scratching of Cypress’s pencil. “We will send envoys to other plans, publish the works of our scholars, share our inventions and our prophecies with the world.”

“And we’ll fight,” Lioska added, that being her area of expertise. “We will establish borders and control territory.”

“And we’ll build a beautiful home,” Nessa said, a bit dreamily. “Down in the Strand, where the lights dance.”

“You know half those lights are will o’ the wisps trying to kill you, right?” Cypress said without looking up. “Publish … inventions … OK, got it. Still sounds a little PR-santized, but at least it’s an elaboration.”

Glancing over, Aridatha saw how Lioska’s gaze focused on Cypress’s little pad of paper. There was a glint in the wildclaw’s eye; she’d thought of something clever.

“Have you ever heard of a newspaper, Cypress?” Lioska said.

Birdlike, Cypress tilted his head. “That would be, I presume, a piece of paper with news written on it?”

“Several pieces of paper, actually. Many copies, distributed widely.” Lioska rubbed her chin. “It occurs to me that your … curiosity could make you just the dragon to fill such a paper.”

“You want to publish my gossip?” Cypress asked, skeptical.

“It’s not gossip,” Lioska said. “It’s reporting. Telling dragons what they need to know, making sure everyone understands what’s going on. And getting your name all over the Isles, of course.”

“It would take forever to write out all those copies.”

Lioska shook her head. “You don’t write them. We’d need a printing press, a machine that makes copies quickly. It would not be difficult to acquire one, assuming, of course, that we had control of the clan’s finances.”

Cypress grinned. “I see. It’s a bribe. You’ll make me famous, star-studded, if I throw in my lot with you.”

“It’s not like there would be anything to report here anyway,” Aridatha noted. “What are you going to write, ‘Tundras eat vegetation for the hundredth day’?”

From the way Cypress scowled down at his paper, she must have gotten awfully close to something he’d actually written.

“You’re right,” he said. “This is boring. But what exactly am I trading for this fantastic new life?”

“Your support,” Aridatha said.

“You going to tell me what to write? Where to go, what to do?”

Lioska shook her head. “Of course not. A free press is vital to a free society.”

That … wasn’t the answer Aridatha would have given, but it was out there now.

“ ‘Leader’ does imply a certain level of authority,” she said. “But we’re not trying to become some kind of tyrants, Cypress. Having a ‘newspaper’ could extend our influence considerably – and I think you’d know best how to run that.”

Another grin. “You’ve got that right. Very well, ladies, you’ve got yourself a ‘reporter.’”

He held out his claw again, and this time all three of them shook it.


	10. Chapter 10

“I want a dead imperial,” Zarya said.

“I don’t know if we can promise that,” Lioska said, thinking of the fact that half the dragons in their corner were pious imperials.

As if reading Lioska’s mind, Zarya smiled and said, “You’ve already talked to Acrux and Telyn, have you not?”

“Yes.”

“And they have told you of my sacrilegious quest, I assume?” Looking down, Zarya rolled a few bones across the floor of her cavern. Lioska could not help being impressed by her collection of anatomical models. If only some of them weren’t so … fresh.

“Not in so many words, but I am aware of what you seek. And I am, of course, aware that Acrux and Telyn will oppose you at every turn.” Lioska tapped her claw against the stone floor. “I cannot promise you an imperial corpse.”

“You could fetch me an Emperor,” Zarya murmured. “Examining the physical and magical amalgamation would certainly be enlightening.”

Lioska stared at Zarya, unable to determine whether the mirror was serious. Setting aside the massive question of where they would even acquire such a thing, she was pretty sure that the proposal would rile the imperials rather than pacifying them – and an Emperor would be much harder to hide than a single corpse.

“No?” Zarya tilted her head, red light shining off the bones that adorned her skull. “What do you intend to offer me, then?”

“Primarily what we offer everyone,” Lioska said. “A greater scope for your talents.”

“Oh?” Zarya blinked, still smiling. “Do elaborate.”

Lioska took a deep breath, then wished she hadn’t, as Zarya’s chambers reeked of blood and rot. She made a mental note: when they constructed their new home, they’d need to put this mirror downwind of the rest of the clan.

“We intend to range wider and trade more than you currently do. It should not be difficult to acquire for you a greater variety of specimens. We also intend to share our scholars’ knowledge and earn them great regard.”

“And you consider me a scholar, do you?” The bones on the floor clicked and rattled. The stone of the Crystalspine Reaches was usually a luminous pink, but it was stained dark here.

“Yes. Your knowledge could be invaluable to healers throughout Sornieth.”

“And what if I don’t want to share?”

It was Lioska’s turn to blink. “I suppose … that would be your right.”

And then how would the morbid mirror be contributing to the clan, exactly? Lioska pushed the question away. It was more important to gain Zarya’s allegiance now, when they needed numbers on their side. They could always find a reason to kick her out later if she turned into deadweight.

“Hmm.” Zarya picked up one of the bones and turned it in her claws. “Why did Acrux and Telyn join you?”

“Telyn saw our future success,” Lioska said. She didn’t know herself whether she believed the imperial’s visions. On one hand, of course they would succeed. On the other, prophecy was so … hazy; she didn’t intend to rely on it.

“Well, who am I to argue with our resident seer?” said Zarya, who as far as Lioska knew had never had a conversation with Telyn that could not reasonably be termed and argument.

“I cannot promise you an imperial corpse,” Lioska repeated. “But … I do not believe in sacrificing gnostic progress on the altar of superstition. I see no reason that you should not perform a discreet autopsy, if the opportunity arises.”

“Your pretty little would-be queen agrees?”

It took Lioska a moment to realize that Zarya was referring to Nessa. Tapping her claw against the floor again, the wildclaw thought about her response. She didn’t want to undermine Nessa’s authority … or did she?

“I’m not sure that she has to know any more than Acrux and Telyn do.”

Zarya laughed, a dark, rich sound. “As I rather suspected. So, who’s the real power behind the throne, you or Aridatha?”

“The three of us work together,” Lioska said, speaking carefully. “I would not go against Nessa’s wishes, but she need not concern herself with every minute detail of the clan’s activities. She trusts me to make wise decisions and further our cause.”

That last sentence was probably true. Lioska wasn’t sure if the previous one was. Maybe Aridatha was right and they needed Nessa’s charisma to carry the day. Maybe not.

Zarya looked around the room. “I have many delicate specimens.”

“And you will have our full support and aid in moving them.”

A chuckle. “Are you going to make Acrux carry my bones? He’ll love that.”

“We’re going to _ask_  Acrux and Telyn to help their clan-mates, yes.”

Zarya laughed again, longer and louder this time. “Ah, honestly, I’d join you just to see the look on that overgrown spiral’s face when he has to touch my stuff. Count me in, Lioska.”


	11. Chapter 11

“I guess this really is happening,” Zarya said, in tones of mild surprise, looking around the room.

“It is,” Telyn confirmed. Zarya’s tail twitched, possibly with distaste for the imperial.

“So what did you need me for?” the mirror asked, turning to Lioska.

“We’ve gathered you all here today,” said Aridatha, making eye contact with each and every dragon in the room, “to start working on the logistics of moving.”

“You know, Nesita has a point,” Cypress said. “We’ve got a spacious, commodious lair here. Is it really worth it to pack up and drag all our stuff somewhere else?”

“Maybe it’s spacious for _you_ ,” Telyn replied, her tone somewhere between disdain and amusement. “I could use the room to actually stretch my wings once in a while.”

“The current design places those of us who arrived recently rather far from the clan’s central workings,” Sunfall added.

Cypress shrugged. “I’ve never found it a hassle to walk, but OK. What are we looking at, then?”

He turned to Aridatha, pulling his little pad of paper out of his belt, and waited, pencil poised, for her response. It was beginning to bug the pearlcatcher that no one actually looked to Nessa, who _was_  theoretically in charge.

“That’s why we’ve asked you here today,” Aridatha said. “We know that we intend to move into the Starwood Strand, to be closer to our god and the heart of our flight.”

“You’re Lightning,” Acrux pointed out, softly.

“And I chose to leave my birthplace and travel to the realm of the Arcanist, to serve him. Surely you can understand?” Aridatha caught Acrux’s golden gaze. The imperial just looked back at her, frowning, and she moved on. “However, we haven’t yet found a good location for a new lair, let alone started building it.”

Cypress whistled. “That’s right. We’re not going to be excavating caves in the woods, are we? What do you want to do, burrow?”

“I was thinking of weaving structures into the trees, actually,” said Nessa, to everyone’s surprise, even Aridatha’s. In the silence that followed, Nessa looked up. “What?”

 _She could have told me she had an idea in private instead of making it news to me_. But Aridatha pushed away her annoyance. If they intended to make Nessa their leader, she ought to get used to listening to her.

“That might work for faes,” Acrux said, looking down at Nessa. Glancing around, he added, “Maybe the rest of you too. But you’d need a pretty big tree to take my weight.”

He was right, and Acrux wasn’t even the clan’s largest member.

“Maybe we should look for some big trees, then,” Nessa suggested. She fiddled with her scarf as Acrux’s frown deepened. “Or we could build ground-level dwellings for the clan’s heavier and, perhaps, less agile members … I can see objections to an arboreal hatchery as well.”

Nessa looked up, and apparently reactions were not what she’d hoped. She leapt up and went to Cypress. “Look, give me that.”

“What?” Cypress said, but Nessa had already grabbed his notes and pencil. She folded back the pages Cypress had written on and ripped out some clean ones. The skydancer reached for her with a wordless cry of protest, but Lioska and Sunfall both slid between them with a certain expression, and Cypress subsided back.

“Look, I’m thinking pavilions for the imperials,” Nessa said, drawing rapidly. “We’ll want our hatchery and hoard near the center, of course, and some kind of gathering place … It depends on the lay of the land, so I can’t be certain until we decide on a location, but it’ll need to be defensible, physically or magically. As for the weight problem, we can use a tiered system, where larger dragons reside on the ground and smaller ones in the trees above them. Something like this.”

[Everyone looked at Nessa’s drawings.](http://lukrasclan.tumblr.com/post/143235923819/nessas-sketches-and-notes-from-here)

“What are the dots?” Cypress said “And the circles?”

“Trees, and the shelters built around them.” Nessa pointed at a quick sketch of a tree with a box labeled “GUARD, RIDGE, SNAP” at its base. Circles in the upper branches read “FAE” and “SPIRAL,” while some sort of triangular structure called “MIDSIZE” bulged from the side of the trunk. “The exact layout will depend on the space we find, of course. If we build around the trees, we can have a two-story … I feel like I’m forgetting something. What do we need, besides hatchery and hoard?”

“Talva and Gavin will require gardens,” Acrux said. “Bartos and Lorette have their libraries … Zarya will want her ‘laboratory.’”

“Yes, I will,” said the mirror. Acrux’s distaste for her had come across plainly in his voice.

“We’ll need space to practice fighting,” Sunfall said. “We have to keep in shape.”

“And we may want to field a greater military presence than we currently do,” Lioska added. “Not to mention making this place defensible.”

“Xylia needs a studio, somewhere we don’t have to smell it on hot days,” Cypress said. “I’ll need space for my newspaper, if that’s still on the table, and if it’s not I want to know why. You’re going to find me one of those ‘printing presses,’ yes?”

“And someone to work it, when things are a bit more settled here,” Lioska said, watching Nessa write down the suggestions. “Your penmanship is atrocious, Nessa.”

The fae didn’t look up. “I believe this is a pencil, actually.”

“All right,” Aridatha said, and everyone looked at her. “Nessa, I’m glad you’ve been thinking about this, and I believe it’s time for us to get moving. Some of us need to head to the Starwood Strand, scout a suitable location, and begin construction before we try to move the entire clan, let alone the hoard.”

“It wouldn’t do to have all those pretty things ruined in our first rainfall,” Zarya said, with considerable disdain for “pretty things.”

“No, it wouldn’t.” Aridatha looked at Nessa’s drawings again. “Clearly, Nessa should go, since she has all the ideas. Lioska, I think you’d better go as well, to make sure the place we choose is defensible. I’ll stay here and keep working to bring the clan around.”

She looked up, considering. Who would be more useful here? Who would be able to help with construction and planning?

“Acrux, would you be willing to accompany them?” She wanted a large dragon to do heavy lifting, and although Acrux wasn’t that big for an imperial, he was clever and good with his claws. “And Sunfall, in case you run into any … unfriendly elements. Telyn and Cypress, I’d ask you to stay here and help me.”

“And me?” Zarya laughed.

Aridatha looked at the mirror and her bloody talons. “I didn’t think you cared where I wanted you to go, frankly.”

“Got it in one.” Zarya licked her lips. “I’ll stay here. Got to get my specimens ready for the move.”

“When do you want us to leave?” Sunfall said.

“As soon as possible.” Aridatha hesitated, looking around the room. She wanted to place Lioska in charge of the expedition, but if Nessa was supposed to be their leader …

They’d have to talk about that later. Aridatha picked up Nessa’s plans and began to fold them carefully for travel. “You should start gathering supplies while the rest of us arrange a proper send-off for you. I wish you luck.”


	12. Chapter 12

“You do realize,” Lioska said, rather sharply, “that it is foolish to continue to pretend that Nessa commands us.”

Aridatha looked up. She was tired of this discussion and tired in general. “No, I don’t. Nessa _does_ command us.”

Lioska snorted. “You are not so stupid, Aridatha, or we would not be here.”

“She has a point, you know.”

Aridatha spun, a snarl already baring her teeth, but her aggression only made Zarya laugh. The mirror shrugged a small pack off her back and said, “Everyone looks at you anyway, Ari. Nobody’s going to believe that pretty little thing’s calling the shots when she has to consult with you on everything. Lioska, your supplies.”

Lioska picked up the pack. She didn’t look at Aridatha, but her posture practically radiated _I told you so_. Aridatha tried to calm down; she didn’t like Zarya using her nickname. _Nessa_ called her Ari.

“They’re just about ready to go,” Zarya added, heading back out into the main cavern. With a last glance at Aridatha, Lioska followed her. Lioska really was good at significant glances. This one had said, _It’s your choice, but choose wisely._

Aridatha closed her eyes for a moment. Maybe Lioska _was_ right. She’d already noticed how the dragons currently following them turned to her instead of Nessa when they had questions – except for Sunfall. Suddenly she couldn’t quite remember why she’d gone through this whole charade in the first place. Surely it wasn’t just that Nessa would look very good in a crown?

The pearlcatcher rubbed her pearl, which had originally been Nessa’s. She’d almost managed to forget about the tiny seed pearl she’d spat up as the words of the transformative enchantment coiled around her. Still, she’d better dig it back up and take it with them when they did finally get ready to move. Even if Nessa’s former pearl had grown under her care …

Shaking her head, Aridatha turned and went to the main cavern. About half the clan had turned out to bid farewell to those dragons who were going to find a new lair site: Lioska, Nessa, Acrux, Sunfall. Of course, most of the other dragons were not behind the idea of a new lair just yet. Their expressions ranged from concerned frowns to mocking smiles. No one was looking at Aridatha, so she allowed herself to rub her eyes. She still had a lot of work to do.

Nesita had come, and Delemont. The fae Kelsus rode on Geras’ head, while Rakgi … It took Aridatha a moment to realize what seemed so wrong about the other dragon: his pearl was nowhere to be seen. He hadn’t started his life as a pearlcatcher, either, so maybe it didn’t matter to him. Telyn was there to see off her mate, of course, and Cypress would never miss any gossip-worthy event. Unobtrusive nocturnes, a guardian with a harpy on her back, Wanderer the coatl and Moros the ridgeback … Just over half the clan, Aridatha judged.

Nessa perched on Acrux’s back, completely dwarfed by the imperial. Lioska was giving Aridatha another significant look, this one clearly meaning _Now or never_. How _did_ she do that?

“Nessa, Lioska, could I speak with you for a moment?” Aridatha asked, pitching her voice to carry across the cavern and the muttering of the crowd. “Privately?”

Lioska smiled thinly as she walked back to the side cave. Nessa fluttered over too, her Fire eyes wide and questioning. In the littler cave, Aridatha sat with her back to the entrance – she trusted Lioska to watch it, even if that meant the wildclaw stared past her rather than making eye contact – and set her pearl on the floor with a click. Now that she’d taken that first step, she had absolutely no idea what to say.

“What did you need, Ari?” Nessa said, after a long silence.

“I …”

Lioska snorted, a sound somewhere between disapproval and disgust, and spoke into Aridatha’s silence. “I feel that Aridatha would make a more effective leader than you will, Nessa. I was hoping she had come to share my opinion and would take up the title.”

“Oh.” Nessa drew her wings in around her, and for a moment Aridatha’s heart hovered in her throat: Had she offended Nessa? Did the fae consider this a betrayal? Lioska had certainly implied that the decision was Aridatha’s, not Nessa’s, despite Nessa’s supposed title. “It doesn’t really matter, does it?”

Aridatha looked down at Nessa, blinking. Lifting her head, Nessa shrugged. “We want the same thing, don’t we? And frankly, Aridatha, you’re better at this than I am. You’re clever.”

Crests drooping, Nessa added, “I wouldn’t be sorry to hand over the job, actually. I’m always afraid I’m going to say something wrong and ruin the entire thing.”

“Oh.” It hadn’t occurred to Aridatha that Nessa might find the position stressful rather than enjoyable.

“Have you got that sorted?” Frip melted out of the shadows in the corners of the room, suddenly very _present_ when a moment ago she’d been completely unnoticeable or, Aridatha suspected, simply not there. Aridatha and Lioska bared their teeth automatically, but the nocturne appeared unconcerned. “You’d better work out how to spin it for the others. Kypry might help you with that, if you can get him to himself. Then again, he’s going to want the backroom details too. More muckraker than spin-master, that one.”

As usual, Aridatha had no idea what Frip was talking about. And, as usual, Frip didn’t seem to care. She added, “You know, you would have gotten into all sorts of interesting trouble if you’d stuck with it. But I think it would have gotten old quickly. Plus, so much _work_.”

Aridatha opened her mouth to say … she wasn’t sure what. But Frip broke in again. “Anyway, don’t let me keep you. You’ve made your decision, all right and proper, and I’m just here to speed things along. Or remind you that your adoring public is waiting.”

With that, and a disconcerting grin, Frip left the room, slipping out into the main cavern. Her voice was still audible, though muffled, chattering away at someone else. Aridatha took a deep breath. She really did not trust that nocturne.

“You’re sure you’re all right with this, Nessa?” she said. “And … Frip has a point. We’ll need some sort of explanation for the rest of the clan, or we’ll look weak and indecisive. In fact, we may want to hold off announcing a change in leadership until our position is more secure.”

“If that’s what you think is best, Ari,” said Nessa, looking at Aridatha with wide, trusting eyes. The pearlcatcher had to look away, feeling unaccountably guilty.

“All right. For the moment, let’s not say anything.” Aridatha turned to Lioska. “You’ll work together to select a good location, I trust. Once we’ve established ourselves a bit more, we can …”

“Tell the others who’s really in charge,” Lioska offered, a bit more bluntly than Aridatha would have liked. For a moment she had to bite back the question of why _Lioska_ didn’t just take the role, if she always knew best.

“Something like that,” Aridatha said. “Let’s go.”

Back in the main hall, everyone was looking at them. They’d delayed the expedition’s departure – not by much, since Frip had cut short the discussion, but notably. Nessa fluttered up to Lioska’s back and surveyed the room.

“I think we’re ready,” she said, looking at the dragons who were to accompany them. Acrux and Sunfall both nodded, solemnly, and Nessa turned to the watching dragons. “We will find a beautiful place for all of us to live. We will build a new future. And we continue to thank you for the opportunity.”

“Now, move out,” Lioska added.


End file.
